The veracity of claims the Awatea St stadium would be a multipurpose facility, and the level of detail in reports on the project was questioned this week, as the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council took in the latest information on the stadium.
The report, the first from the stadium stakeholders group, covered each of the conditions the city council set for the trust in a March meeting, where it was agreed to keep funding the project.
At a city council finance and strategy meeting this week, the multipurpose aspect of the stadium was queried when the report was discussed.
The design intent of a stadium with conference, seminar and day facilities had not changed, the report said.
Members' lounges, corporate suites and other facilities could be used for conferences, seminars, break-out space and meeting rooms.
"These spaces are fully fitted out from a building perspective, but the extent of fit-out of audiovisual equipment has yet to be determined.
"A public address [PA] system will be part of the base build. The furniture, fittings and equipment budget has provision for this fit-out once determined."
The east stand of the stadium was "effectively a flat slab" enclosed with metal cladding, with the ability to be divided from the rest of the stadium.
There was no longer a folding wall, as the cost was found to be prohibitive.
"There is a dividing screen."
Major conferences - for example of 1500 people - would need a stage, PA to suit the event, audiovisual equipment, lighting, heating, flooring and signs.
"In addition to a venue hire fee, the cost of hiring the equipment would also be chargeable to the hirer, unless they provided it themselves."
Asked about the fit-out by Cr Dave Cull, trust chief executive Ewan Soper said for lounge space, it referred to a fit-out according to its purpose as a lounge rather than a comprehensive fit-out as a conference facility.
"It's a fit-out that provides the opportunity for other hirers of the facility to use it for their purposes.
"It will be adequate for its purposes as a lounge, and adaptable for other purposes."
Asked by Cr Colin Weatherall whether the east stand would be "bare open space", Mr Soper said it would be when seating was removed.
Cr Chris Staynes said it would be helpful to know the costs of holding, for instance, an ice-skating championship at the stadium.
"We need to know the attractiveness of the venue. The costs may be prohibitive."
Mr Soper said the trust's primary concern was the business case it had put together, and the cost of equipment for other activities was not part of that.
Those costs were, he imagined, something the stadium operator would look at.
"I guess we haven't given as much thought to that at this time."
The trust's business case was a measure of expenditure and revenue for the stadium, but did not consider costs and revenues of multipurpose activities.
A review of the business case was expected in December.
Cr Wilson asked if the council's efforts to raise $20 million of outside funding could be reported on, but Cr Syd Brown said he could not do so at this stage.
At a full Otago Regional Council meeting yesterday, Cr Michael Deaker said he thought the stakeholders group report was a "grossly unsatisfactory piece of reporting" which did not tell him what he needed to know.
The information was "pretty generalised" and lacking in detail - especially on private sector funding, guaranteed price, and where the trust was with the University of Otago or Rugby Football Union.
Councillors raised concerns conditions they had set down for the trust had not been covered in the report.
But chief executive Graeme Martin said that, at each meeting of the new stakeholders group, chairman Stephen Cairns and council staff had made the point that conditions the regional council set down for the trust had to be met.
"We are endeavouring to make sure we're not lost in the process."
Cr Bryan Scott said while the council had imposed a February 3 deadline on the trust, independent professional assessment of information on the level of private funding and building costs was needed.
The council should be organising that analysis now, not waiting until decision time next year.
Mr Martin said while the council was not in a position to demand a report, that issue was why the council had been very specific in its conditions with the trust.
"If they ignore that, it's at their peril. It is the decision of this council and it is appropriate to keep reminding them."
